


Little One

by GrapieBee



Category: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker
Genre: Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Sick Character, Sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-16
Updated: 2017-08-16
Packaged: 2018-12-16 07:36:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11824077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrapieBee/pseuds/GrapieBee
Summary: True, Heroes and Legends and Kings of old could not get sick. But it appeared that little boys and old men were plenty capable of it





	Little One

**Author's Note:**

> Another commission by a lovely anonymous commissioner!

The wind and sea had been so uncharacteristically cold for this time of year, it had even thrown Daphnes for a loop. Gray skies, choppy waters, bitterly cold gusts, all of it culminated into just a terrible, terrible time at sea.

They tried to bear it, had tried cut their course across the waves as best as they could, but it seemed mother nature and the Goddesses had plans all their own. It was on the third day of this terrible, uncharacteristically cruel weather, that they decided to call it quits.

That was how they found themselves on Windfall Island, soaked to the bone and exhausted. Daphnes did what he could to protect Link from the storm, ushering the young boy in front of him as the wind and rain hit against his back.

“To the cafe, my boy, let’s get out of this rainy mess.”        

Link huddled as closely to Daphnes as he could, tripping on his own feet as he tried to fall in step with his father figure.

“Careful, my boy.” Daphnes said, extending a large hand to help Link up.

Link accepted the help gladly, giving Daphnes a warm smile as he did so, and was up and moving again in a flash.

As they opened the doors, every head turned towards them, the sullen faces of sailors looking back at them. Daphnes straightened his back just ever so slightly as he and Link stepped in.

The local cafe also acted as a small Inn, housing a smattering of rooms on the second floor of the building. They had stayed there previously, only once or twice, and if his memory served him right, he seemed to recall one of those rooms owning a fireplace. In this case, the idea of a sitting in front of a warm, cozy fire just seemed so wonderful.

The very beginnings of a smile tugged at Daphnes’ mouth as he peered down towards Link, happiness evaporating in a moment. True, while Link had fared through much fiercer storms than the one raging outside, the slight shivering of his shoulders and chattering of his teeth told Daphnes that the chill in the air was something he was not used to.

“Quite the weather we’re having, isn’t it?” Daphnes said to the owner behind the counter, closing the door behind him and Link.

“That’s a word for it, yeah.” The owner, a woman by the name Gillian, said. She did not look up from her work as she spoke and continued to idly clean a mug from where she stood.

Daphnes ushered Link further in ever so slightly before moving past him, reaching the front of the counter in a few long strides.

“I was wondering, madam, if me and the boy might be able to rent one of the rooms upstairs? Preferably the one with the fireplace?”

Though he was doing what he could to keep his voice low and even, it seemed that his cadence had the habit of coming out gruff and loud, his words reaching farther out into the cafe than he would have cared for, sounding far more on edge than he would have liked.

Gillian turned her eyes from the mug she had been meticulously cleaning and turned her attention to them.

“I thought I recognized that voice. It’s Link and…” she gestured to the green clothed child and then paused as she pointed a finger to the once King of Hyrule, her brow furrowing as she tried to recall a name for him.

“Daphnes.”

“Daphnes! That’s it! Yes, I should be able to get that arranged for you. Give me just a second, let me get the key.”

The duo waited, the larger of the two’s eyes following the owner’s back as she disappeared into the back room. It was then that a movement, the smallest of tugs, pulled at the sleeve of his coat.

Looking down, he was met with Link’s bright blue eyes, a smile spread across his pale face as he began to sign.

‘Don’t be obvious about it, but look at the big guy two tables to your left.’

As Link finished, Daphnes waited a beat or two before following the boy’s request, turning his eyes just enough to the left the he could peek out of the corners. Sure enough, he could immediately tell who Link was referring to.

A giant of a man, nearly a head taller than Daphnes and just as broad, was nervously bouncing his leg up and down. He was staring at them, trying to be sneaky by taking a peek over his shoulder but being incredibly blatant about it. It took Daphnes a moment, studying his face, when recognition had at last set in.

This man had been at the cafe the last time they’d been here, causing a ruckus with goading people on to arm wrestle with him.

Much to his chagrin, Daphnes had drank his deep mug of cider perhaps a smidge too quickly and the man’s incessant taunting may have touched a nerve, just ever so slightly. That nerve had soon been pinched when the man had turned his harassment to Link, nearly causing his blood to boil.

Needless to say, after beating him solidly ten times in a row, without so much as a word or a bead of sweat on his brow, the rowdy sailor had not taunted anyone to face off with him the rest of the night.

It seemed that he, and the other ruffians he was sitting with, had not yet forgotten that lesson.

Daphnes chuckled silently to himself, remembering fondly how loudly Link had yelped and clapped that night, cheering him on. While perhaps not the most kingly of activities to partake in, arm wrestling the sailor had been well worth it, if only because it had given Link a reason to laugh.

“Here you go, checked into room 1B, fireplace and all.” Gillian’s voice snapped Daphnes’ attention back to the desk as he rounded out of the back room, holding a key out for him to take.

“Thank you very much.” He said as he paid for their room, taking the offered key.

With Link close behind, they made their way to the stairs, their room the last at the end of a short hallway. The key turned easily in its lock, the heavy wooden door swinging inward as Daphnes pushed it with a firm hand.

Two twin size beds sat on either side of the door, each tucked into a respective corner of the room, made up with what Daphnes could tell were hand sewn quilts, old and well loved. At the foot of each bed sat a folded towel and additional woolen blanket. The fireplace sat straight ahead of the door, small but well stocked with dry wood and kindling. An unset clothesline sat next to the wood, ready to be used should a weary traveler need to hang their clothes to dry.

It was a small, though comfortable, abode.

They were quick to shed their travel packs once in the room, Daphnes stepping towards the fireplace.

“Link, my boy, why don’t you get changed into some dry clothes and get this clothesline set up? The fire should be ready here in a moment.”

Daphnes threw a look over his shoulder to see Link give him a thumbs up and a smile, his shivering now more noticeably than it had been downstairs. He frowned, turning back to his work to give the boy his privacy. It seemed, perhaps, that the wind and rain had chilled the boy deeper than Daphnes had originally thought.

Quickening his work, Daphnes had a healthy fire blazing in a matter of minutes, the clothesline now pulled taut across the room, Link’s wet clothes drying across it.

“Here my boy, don’t forget to dry your hair. We don’t want you to catch cold.” Daphnes said as light heartedly as he could, tossing one of the towels over Link’s head as he stood.

He pulled his dampened red coat off his shoulders, pleased to find that it was not nearly as soaked through as he had expected it to be. He hung it on the clothesline and, as he was about to pull his shirt over his head, the smallest of sneezes met his ears.

He paused, turning his attention back to his small charge as Link continued to run the towel vigorously over his head. He watched as the boy finished his drying and pulled the towel away with a flourish, Link’s hair standing up at all sorts of interesting angles. Were it not for the rising bubble of concern in his chest, Daphnes would have found the sight hysterical.

Instead, his instincts had him focusing in once again on the still near uncontrollable shivering of Link’s shoulders, and the uncharacteristic paleness of his cheeks. Even in the toasty warmness that their room had become with the roaring fire, he was still freezing. His heart clenched painfully for a moment, reeling at the realization that this was, indirectly, his fault.

He should have called it quits sooner out there. He was the elder, the more experienced of the duo. He knew well enough that this weather was unusual, knew that while Link was the Chosen Hero, that did not change the fact that he was still a little boy. Heroes in stories and legends never got sick.

That didn’t mean little boys couldn’t.

Without a second thought, Daphnes had scooped Link into his arms, the smaller of the duo letting out a yelp in surprise. In that same movement, he pulled one of the extra blankets from where it sat folded at the foot of a bed, draping it over Link’s shoulders. In a few quick strides, he was before the fireplace and, with an elegance that only came to him after years of kingly experience, sat cross legged in front of the fire, settling Link close to his chest.

Even through the thick blanket, Daphnes could feel him shivering in his arms.  
The small boy wiggled, though not with the intent of escaping Daphnes’ grasp, and soon had his hands above the line of blanket bundled around him.

‘Daphnes, what are you-’

“You’ve been shaking like a leaf since we got inside. I was serious about not wanting you to catch a cold.”

Link’s brow furrowed, likely in frustration, as he began to sign again.

‘You don’t need to worry about me. I’m not going to get sick-’

“Link, my boy, I don’t ask you to humor me on many things. Please. Let’s get you to stop shivering, alright?”

Link leaves it at that, pulling his hands back into the blanket cocoon Daphnes had wrapped around him, shifting until he was comfortably cradled in Daphnes’ lap, his head rested against the larger man’s middle. He squirmed and shifted every now and then, calming as he rested his head against Daphnes’ chest, no doubt listening to the beating of his heart. Daphnes stroked at the top of his head as Link shifted one last time, his head finally coming to rest against Daphnes’ stomach, sighing contentedly.

They sat like that for the better part of an hour, Daphnes’ strategic placement of their seat keeping him within arm’s length of the pile of wood, keeping him well equipped to keep the fire’s blaze steady.

It was just as his shivering was subsiding, as the knot in Daphnes’ chest was loosening and unwinding, that Link’s hands popped from the blanket once more.

‘You know, your stomach actually makes for a perfect pillow.’

Perhaps it was the suddenness of the comment, after nearly an hour of silence. Perhaps it was the deliverance, the casual flick and movement of Link’s fingers. Or perhaps it was the fact that he was exhausted, though he’d been trying to convince himself that he wasn’t. Whatever it was, the comment suddenly had Daphnes laughing, deep and heartily.

“I-I can’t say I can argue with you, my boy. I’ve never had the chance to use my own stomach as a pillow, so you’ll have to be my subject matter expert.” He said with a wheeze as his laughing tapered off.

He craned his head downwards to see Link peer up at him, the goofiest of grins plastered on his face.

‘I’m not just the Chosen Hero, I’m the Pillow Master.’

Again, another round of laughter rolled its way through Daphnes at the boy’s words.

It was a half hour that Daphnes felt comfortable enough to remove Link from his lap, much to both of their chagrin. While the boy’s shivering had stopped, Link had since become extremely cozy in his little blanket cocoon and was hesitant to have that coziness disturbed in the slightest. Daphnes, over his time spent with the boy, found that Link had many sides to him.

Battle Link was quick on his toes, pumped full of adrenaline, with a glint in his eyes that could slice through ice.

Puzzle solving Link was intense, signing to himself as he worked, thinking the puzzles through as he went, surveying the entire area before acting.

Hungry Link was terse, all scowls and mean eyed until he had enough food in his stomach to quell his rising irritation.

Sleepy Link, Daphnes had found, was something of a snuggle muffin. As his shivering had subsided and the warmth of the fire had soaked into the blanket, Link’s eyes had slowly grown more and more heavy as the minutes passed.

When Daphnes lifted him from his lap to make a quick trip downstairs to procure a meal for them, as his own growling stomach demanded him to, Link fussily squirmed closer to Daphnes’ torso, burying his face in the fabric of his shirt. Despite his own earlier protests, his own assertions that Daphnes need not worry about him, Sleepy Link appeared to have an entirely different opinion.

“Link, my boy, I have to go get us something to eat eventually.”

Link’s only response was to bury his face somehow even further into the fabric as he let out a small snort of irritation. As if in response, Daphnes’ stomach gave a mighty rumble, the noise prompting another annoyed snort from the small bundle in his lap. Daphnes waited patiently, a small smile on his face as he watched Link settle his head back onto his stomach. Again, as if on cue, the growl of Daphnes’ stomach sounded.

With a final huff of annoyance, Link rolled himself from Daphnes’ lap, still cocooned in his blanket, to sit himself by the fire. He pulled his hands from the blanket for but a moment to sign.

‘You did that on purpose somehow.’

“On my life my boy, if I could make my stomach growl on command, I could be making quite the small fortune as a side-show attraction, and we both know it!”

That pulled a small chuckle of laughter from Link, groggy though he was. It was then that he stood from floor, taking a second the stretch his arms over his head, the muscles of his back pulling against each other nicely.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes, just keep yourself warm by the fire, alright?”

He was answered by a small nod and Link pulling the blanket tighter over his shoulders.

Daphnes was true to his word and made the trip to the ground floor of the café as quick as he could.

He ordered a pot of fish stew for two, a loaf of bread that was big enough that they would have plenty for the following morning as well, and, as a treat, a large, steaming mug of hot cocoa for them to share. As a truly decadent treat, he also purchased a small bag of short-bread cookies to be enjoyed after their meal.

A part of him was so grateful, so relieved that they had managed to stave off the chills that he was certain would have gotten Link sick, that a little treat seemed well deserved for his adoptive son. That, and the past three days at sea had been severely unkind in the first place. Though he would not admit it out loud to anyone, not even the Goddesses themselves, having Link around to buy sweets for was wonderful. No one need know that the once King of Hyrule had a sweet tooth that could rival a child’s.

It took a careful balancing act on his part, what with the loaf of bread tucked under one arm and bowls and cutlery under another, but he eventually managed to make his way back to the room, their food and drink unspilled.

He returns to find Link just as he left him, covered in a blanket, groggily trying to keep his eyes open as he sat by the fire.

Before Daphnes could so much as say a word, Link’s attention had turned to the sound of the opening door, the small boy pulling himself up only to trip on the blanket still incasing him, in his haste to help Daphnes with the load of food.

The older man stifled a snort of laughter and Link untangled his feet from the blanket, cheeks flushed from either embarrassment or from sitting too close to the fire.

“Whoa, slow down there my boy, the food will still be here once you get untangled.” Daphnes teased jovially, his light-hearted nature coming naturally to him once more now that Link was good and well.

Link smiled at his father figure’s joke, holding out a hand for Daphnes to hand something off to him. He obliged, gesturing to Link with his shoulder to come grab the loaf of bread and bowls from under his arms.

It was only a few minutes after that they had their spread set up and ready to eat, a small cast iron kettle hanging over the low burning flame, the stew lazily bubbling within. Bowls filled with soup and hearty chunks of bread torn from the larger loaf, ready to be dunked into the delicious broth.

Just as Daphnes sat back down on the floor before the fire, he just as quickly found Link in his lap, blanket over his shoulders, happily tucking into his bowl of stew. It seemed that Daphnes still had a little bit of a sleepy Link on his hands.

They ate in relative silence, save for the sounds of contended sighs and lazy slurps from spoons. Link was, of course, the first to drink from the enormous mug of hot cocoa, blowing the steam from the surface to cool it enough to sip. In between Link’s own small, timid drinks, Daphnes snuck a few bigger gulps, the first effectively burning his tongue.

Still, with taste buds burnt or not, they enjoyed their meal together tremendously, both of them coming back for seconds on the pot of soup, eating until it was all gone.

It was as they each began eating a short bread cookie, Link now hardly able to keep his eyes open, that Daphnes finished off the very last of the cocoa, smacking his lips as he did. Popping the last mouthful worth of shortbread into his mouth, Daphnes brushed the crumbs from his whiskers and beard, careful to not push them onto Link’s head.

As they sat there, Link still slowly eating at his cookie, Daphnes sighed contentedly.

‘You know,’ Link signed, hands sloppy and slow in his sleepiness, ‘you make an even better pillow when you’re full of food.’

“I’ll have to keep that in mind, O Master of Pillows.”

It was as the fire was finally burning down to bright red embers that Link finally succumbed to the sleep he had been fighting off for the better part of the evening. Carefully, as to not wake him, Daphnes stood from the floor and tucked Link into bed.

Just as quietly, he pulled the pot off the now near dead fire, gathered the dishes and set them just outside their door. They would have the day tomorrow to restock all of their supplies and, weather permitting, they could be back at sea by the following day.

As Daphnes laid down to sleep, belly full and worries of the day laid to rest, he let out a sigh of relief. Tomorrow would be a good day, he was sure of it.

————-

Tomorrow was, in fact, not such a good day.

The very first sound that awoke him was that of a terrible little cough and sniffle. The sound cut through any sort of fog that would have normally hung around his mind, waking him with the same sort of urgency that the growl of a wolf or the shout of a friend might.

He immediately sat up in his bed that was a bit too small for him, turning to the sound with a quick jerk of his neck.

It was radiating from a little bundle of blankets on Link’s bed, the coarse sound only just muffled.

He stood from his bed and, in a few strides, was kneeling next to the bed, his large hand coming to rest on the apex of the bundle.

“Link…little one, are you alright?”

As soon as Link poked his head from blankets, Daphnes could see immediately that no, in fact, Link was not alright. His face was flushed, his hairline dampened with sweat, his nose red and irritated from what Daphnes could surmise was constant blowing or sniffling. The young boy looked up at him, misery plain as day in his eyes.

“Oh, oh Link, my boy, my little one…” Daphnes said, his heart sinking as he pushed the sweat darkened hair from Link’s unfocused eyes.

For all his self-congratulations the night before, all his self-assurance that he had halted Link from getting ill, here his adoptive son was, looking as sick as a dog. That clenching in his chest, that terrible ache from the day before was back, awful and fresh and new.

Pushing his own emotions, his own ache and pain aside, he gave Link a more thorough look-over.

Yes, his forehead was caked in sweat and slightly warm to the touch. Yes, his face was flushed and his expression down right miserable…

But his body was not shaking as it did last night. The fever, while present enough for him to know it was there, did not make Link’s skin scorching to the touch.

His charge did have a small cold, a little lick of a sickness from the day before clinging onto him stubbornly, despite Daphnes’ best efforts to keep such a thing from happening.

Though Daphnes could see this was not by any means something that would be life threatening, Link’s discomfort was apparent the moment he weakly placed his own smaller hand on top of Daphnes’, his eyes watery from trying to contain the coughing that wracked his body.

His mouth forming a thin line, Daphnes made to stand from the side of the bed, stopping suddenly when Link’s hand grasped at his large finger. Those small, miserable eyes looked up at him, pleading with him not to leave him.

“I have to get you medicine, little one. I’ll be back before you know it. I promise.”

He said this as he kneeled back down to the floor, stroking Link’s hair softly. Link’s only response was to pull Daphnes’ hand into the bed, closing his eyes as he buried his face into the callused knuckles of his father figure.

It was with a certain amount of pain that Daphnes pulled away from Link, gently prying his small hand away from his own, to stand up and move from the bed. Immediately, Link curled back in on himself, tucking the blanket around himself once more, coughing harshly into the pillow.

Clenching and unclenching his fists, Daphnes turned to the fireplace, a few strides there and back had his now completely dried red coat in hand. Carefully, he laid the article of clothing over Link, tucking it around his impossibly small frame, making sure the hems of the sleeves were easily within grabbing reach for him.

Link cracked an eye open, his misery still very much evident behind the true blue color of his iris. Again, he reached out to Daphnes, breaking some part of his heart all over again. Instead of reaching back, the elder of the two gently offered the hem of one of the sleeves of his coat, which Link studied for a moment.

“I’ll be back before you know it, I promise, little one. I’ll bring something back to make you feel better, ok?”

Link seemed to study Daphnes, in his sick and miserable stupor, his eyes red rimmed and hazy. He stayed like this for a long, drawn out moment, before he took the offered sleeve. Daphnes breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Link knew, even in his feverish state, that Daphnes wasn’t leaving him, wasn’t abandoning him; he knew that Link trusted him and, oh, how that meant more than anything in the world to the old man.

As Link snuggled deeper into the plush, red fabric of his coat, Daphnes reached a hand out to gently stroke at Link’s hair once more. He stopped himself, though, knowing that the longer he delayed in leaving, the longer he delayed in returning as well.

He pulled his hand back to his chest and quickly left, trying not to take the harsh little coughs from the room to heart.

————-

The morning weather outside was not much better than it had been when they came into port the previous day. While the rain was only at a drizzle now, the skies were still grey and overcast, the winds still unseasonably cold and unkind. Daphnes, even with his large stature, had to push himself against the buffeting winds to get anywhere.

Still, he pushed on and found himself at the Chu Jelly Shop, the door clattering behind him a little too loudly as the wind snapped it shut.

“Weather sure has been something, hasn’t it?”

The question came from Doc Bandam, where he sat behind the long counter at the back of the shop. Normally one to be as polite as he could be, the cold claw of worry had sank its talons deeply into his chest and, quite honestly, he just didn’t have the time for pleasantries.

“I have a sick youngster on my hands, and I desperately need something to help him. He’s running a slight fever, has a harsh cough, and running nose. Is there anything you have that could help him?”

Doc Bandam, not one for pleasantries in the first place, didn’t so much as bat an eye as Daphnes rambled off Link’s symptoms. He merely listened, scratching at his chin as Daphnes finished.

“Well, I ought to have something that’ll clear that right up. Hang on.”

He hopped from the tall stool, turning his back to Daphnes, and began rummaging through different sized and shaped bottles along the shelves behind the counter. It only took him a moment or two of perusing for him to pull away with two bottles. One filled with an opaque, turquoise colored liquid, the other with what Daphnes could only describe as orange colored spheres, each softly clinking together as they were jostled in their glass.

“This,” Doc started, placing the turquoise bottle on the counter, “should about do the trick.”

“And the other bottle?” Daphnes questioned, just as it too was placed on the counter.

Doc smiled, tapping his finger against the cork.

“Ginger candies. They should help with the cough, but I know how much of a sweet tooth Link has so, consider it a get better soon gift from me to him.”

Daphnes was quick to pay for the potion, thanking Doc Bandam softly. As he left the Chu Jelly shop, he tightened his grip on the bottles, braced himself, and stepped out into the wind once more.

——————-

When Daphnes returned to their room, he found Link dozing, a pained expression crumpling his features. He had somehow managed to kick off the quilt and extra blanket that he had slept under during the night, and now only had Daphnes’ red coat draped over him, the size of it nearly swallowing him up.

Softly, as carefully as he could, Daphnes placed a large hand on Link’s head, brushing the bangs from his forehead, feeling it with the back of his hand. The fever was still there, radiating unhealthy heat from Link’s skin.

That touch, light though it was, was enough to rouse the boy from his restless sleep, bleary eyes looking up at him as he gave a weak, gravely cough.

“Little one, I’ve got something to help make you feel better. Doc Bandam also sent along some candies for you to enjoy.”

Even in this miserable state, Link seemed to perk up ever so slightly at the mention of sweets. He slowly sat up, still keeping Daphnes’ coat wrapped around him as he did so. Daphnes uncorked the potion bottle, giving the opening a sniff and pulling a look as he did.

If it tasted anything like it smelled, Doc sending along the candies was a kindness.

“Here Link, drink this as quick as you can. I can’t imagine it’s going to taste good.” He said, handing the bottle the boy.

Link blinked slowly, looked at the bottle and sniffed at the lip of it, pulling a face similar to Daphnes’. That brought a smile to his face as he uncorked the second bottle, shaking several candies into the palm of his hand.

“I know, I know. Like I said, try to drink it as quick as you can, ok?”

Link licked his dry lips, staring at the bottle with the most defeated of looks. In one fell movement, he brought the bottle to his mouth and drained it in several large mouthfuls. Before he had even pulled the bottle from his mouth, Daphnes had several ginger candies pressed into his hand. He quickly shoveled them into his mouth, his disdain with the bitterness of the potion apparent.

Daphnes took the empty bottle from Link, offering another candy in exchange. Link gladly took the offered treat, sighing in what could only be taken as a happy manner as he sunk back into the bed.

“Is that a little better?” Daphnes asked, gently ruffling his adoptive son’s hair.

The boy nodded, pulling his hands from under the coat.

‘Thank you. It feels silly, getting sick like this. I’m the Hero of Hyrule. You shouldn’t have to take care of me like a little kid.’

Those cold claws of panic and worry that had been gripping him finally relaxed and let go. In its stead, there was a gentle squeeze, a tender feeling of love and adoration he had for the child in front of him. Here he was, sick as a dog and miserable, and his first thought was to apologize for making Daphnes take care of him.

“Link, little one,” he started, sitting himself on the bed, “there is nothing in the world I would rather be doing. Getting sick from time to time is a part of life. Just because you’re a Hero doesn’t mean you can’t get sick. You’re like the-“

A coughing fit from Link stopped Daphnes in his tracks, prompting him to lean forward and wrap his coat more tightly around Link’s small frame.

“Let’s get you resting now, shall we? You stay here while I get another fire-“

Link shook his head, his small hands darting out to clasp around Daphnes’ own, much larger one. What Link wanted needed no words, needed no signing, for Daphnes to know what he needed.

Carefully, with Link still bundled in the coat, Daphnes pulled him from his bed, carrying him in the crook of one of his arms.

“Let’s build a fire together then, shall we?” Daphnes offered, to no one.

As he had known would happen, Link’s head had found the most perfect cranny to rest against, and was already fast asleep.

This was how Daphnes spent a good portion of his day, milling about one handed and accomplishing only what he could that he knew would not wake his charge. He built a fire, pulled Link’s now dried clothes from the clothesline, and made both of their beds. As each little chore was complete, Daphnes popped a ginger candy into his mouth, delighting in the spicy sweetness of the little morsels.

It was just as his stomach was beginning to growl, the late afternoon sun finally breaking through the gray clouds outside, that Link awoke from his nap, the bleariness previously in his eyes nowhere to be found.

“Well, hello there sleepy head! Feeling a little bit better I hope?”

Link did not have a chance to respond, as the sound of his own stomach growling, much more fiercely then Daphnes’ ever did.

“I am going to take that as a yes, my boy.”

In a fashion similar to the previous day, Daphnes set Link up by the fire and was quick to return with a hearty meal, a mug of hot cocoa, and a treat to share, should Link’s appetite hold out.

They set themselves up as they had the night before, slurping soup contendely, sharing the mug of cocoa, the fire warm and comforting before them.

Unlike the day before, Link only managed one bowl of soup and only a smattering of sips from the mug. As Daphnes finished his own third bowl of soup, he placed the back of his hand against Link’s forehead; the fever he had only a few hours ago was all but gone. Link still coughed every so often, though it was far less hoarse and painful sounding. The sniffling had disappeared entirely.

This time, it seemed, Link truly was on the mend.

‘Thank you, Daphnes.’ Link signed, quite suddenly.

“What for, my boy?”

‘Taking care of me.’

“Link, think nothing of it, like I said-“

‘I know, but it’s still nice to know that I have someone like you to watch over me. You’re the father I never had before and I am so, so thankful to have you on this journey with me so…just, thank you.’

The sincerity of the comment, the suddenness of it, brought pinpricks of tears to his eyes. He swallowed and cleared his throat, his voice catching as he tried to respond.

When he couldn’t, when the overwhelming amount of love and adoration he held for this small, brave boy choked him, he did the next best thing.

With Link still sitting in his lap, he wrapped his arms around him gently, pressing a kiss against the top of his head.

“Thank you, little one.”

—————————

It was the following morning that Daphnes awoke with a start once more, a fever shaking him in his skin, a raspy cough booming from his chest, and snot running from his nose.

He only got through a single bout of coughing when Daphnes felt a small hand rest against his forehead.

He peeked open one of his eyes, unsurprised to find Link’s concerned face staring at him.

“I’m sorry, my boy. Did I wake you up?” Even to his own ears, his voice sounded hoarse and weakened. He could only imagine how badly he looked.

Link did not respond. He merely pouted, pulled himself up onto the bed, and burrowed himself under the blankets with Daphnes, burying his face against the top of his stomach.

Daphnes chuckled, that chuckle turning into another coughing fit in a matter of seconds. He quickly found Link pressing a small, spherical shape into his palm. Pulling it up to his mouth, Daphnes popped the ginger candy into his mouth, the sweet flavor coating his throat and soothing his cough of the time being.

True, Heroes and Legends and Kings of old could not get sick.

But it appeared that little boys and old men were plenty capable of it

 


End file.
